This invention relates to surgical trays, and, more particularly, to surgical trays which are particularly well adapted for protectively holding surgical instruments.
It is a primary object of the present invention to afford a novel surgical instrument tray.
Heretofore, it has been common procedure to place surgical instruments in a metal container in the form of basins, and the like, in an operating room during an operation. Oftentimes such containers have been used during the sterilization and storing of surgical instruments, with such containers of instruments being carried to an operating room, where they are used and then returned to the containers for resterilization in preparation for the next use thereof.
Many surgical instruments are extremely delicate and very readily damaged. This is particularly true with respect to instruments used in the more delicate operations such as, for example, intraocular surgery, plastic surgery, and the like. When containers, such as metal basins, and the like are used for storing and receiving such instruments, the likelihood of accidental damage to the instruments is great, even when the instruments are handled by highly experienced personnel. It is many times greater when the personnel is not highly experienced. Such damage is commonly caused to surgical instruments handled in the aforementioned manner by reason of the instruments striking against each other or striking the metal basins, and the like. It is an important object of the present invention to protect surgical instruments from such damage in a novel and expeditious manner.
Also, heretofore, if surgical instruments used during an operation were to be prearranged in a particular order of use, it has been commonly necessary for the surgeon, or a nurse or assistant to so arrange them, such as, for example, to lay then out on a table or stand in the operating room prior to commencement of the operation. This, of course, has the disadvantage of being time consuming and requiring the services of reliable trained personnel. It has the additional disadvantage of affording an arrangement of instruments which can easily become disarranged or "scrambled" during an operation. It is another important object of the present invention to overcome such disadvantages.
Also, it is an object of the present invention to afford a novel surgical tray which is effective to overcome all such disadvantages in the storing and identification of surgical instruments, and which effectively protects such instruments from damage during sterilization, storing and transporting thereof, and even during the handling thereof in the operating room during an operation.
Surgical trays, such as, for example, trays of the type shown in Mondiadis U.S. Pat. No. 3,437,423, Kovalcik U.S. Pat. No. 3,697,223 and Stahl U.S. Pat. No. 3,723,061, for holding surgical instruments have been heretofore known in the art. However, surgical instruments trays heretofore known in the art commonly have had several inherent disadvantages such as, for example, not effectively protecting the instruments against damage; not being so constructed that the instruments therein can be readily identified other than by highly skilled personnel; not lending themselves to the effective prearangement of instruments in a predetermined order of use; not affording any effective insurance that instruments will be returned to the proper position in the tray during and after an operation; not being readily, effectively sterilizable; being difficult to use in a operating room; or being complicated in construction and operation and difficult and expensive to produce commerically, and the like. It is another important object of the present invention to overcome such disadvantages.
A further object of the present invention is to afford a novel surgical instrument tray wherein the instruments may be disposed in individual compartments which may be so programmed as to size and location that the instruments are readily available in a predetermined order of use during an operation.
An object ancillary to the foregoing is to afford a novel surgical instrument tray wherein the parts thereof are constituted and arranged in a novel and expeditious manner such that after an instrument has been used, during an operation, it may be readily returned to its proper place in the tray so that it is easily identifiable and ready for subsequent use, if such use is called for later in the operation.
Another object of the present invention is to afford a novel surgical tray wherein the parts thereof are so constituted and arranged that the location of instruments may be diagrammed on a record card, or the like, in such a manner that the various instruments can be readily identified, even by relatively inexperienced personnel, for handing to a surgeon, as called for during an operation.
Yet another object is to afford a novel surgical instrument tray of the aforementioned type wherein the location of instruments therein may be so diagrammed on a record card, or the like, in such a manner that a count of the instruments, following an operation may be quickly and easily made; and that, by following the record card, the instruments may be readily prearranged, by inexperienced personnel, in a predetermined order in accordance with the desires of the particular surgeon who will subsequently use the instruments.
A further object of the present invention is to afford a novel surgical instrument tray which may be readily and effectively sterilized by any of the usual sterilizing processes, such as, for example, autoclaving, or gas sterilization, and the like.
Another object of the present invention is to afford a novel surgical instrument tray which affords a novel and practical carrying case for holding the instruments to be used in a particular surgical procedure, during the sterilization and storing of the instruments, and during the transporting of the sterilized instruments, from storage to the operation room, even when such transporting is from one hospital to another.
Another object of the present invention is to afford a novel surgical tray which is practical and efficient in operation, and which may be readily and economically produced commerically.
Other and further objects of the present invention will be apparent from the following description and claims and are illustrated in the accompanying drawings which, by way of illustration, show the preferred embodiments of the present invention and the principles thereof and what I now consider to be the best mode in which I have contemplated applying these principles. Other embodiments of the invention embodying the same or equivalent principles may be used and structural changes may be made as desired by those skilled in the art without departing from the present invention and the purview of the appended claims.